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THE FISHES ^ 

THE PACIFIC COAST 



A Handbook for Sportsmen and Tourists 



CHARLES FREDERICK HOLDER 

Founder and President of the Tuna Club of 

Santa Catalina, Member of the French 

Academic des Sports, Honorary 

Member of the Fly Fishing 

Club of London, etc. 




NEW YORK 

DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

220 East 23rd Street 



COPYRIGHT, 1912. BY 
DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 



6 






[The Fishes of the Pacific Coast] 



gCI.A31G431 



The Fishes of the Pacific Coast 



PREFACE 

THE object of this little volume is to present to stu- 
dents, schools, colleges, anglers, fishermen, tour- 
ists and seekers after piscatorial information in gen- 
eral a series of pictures of Pacific Coast game fish, 
mainly photographed alive and in their natural habitat. 
In a word, the attempt is to have the pictures tell their 
own story. To this is added a brief account of the 
fish, its food, habits, companions, season, value, how it 
is caught, when, where and how; a little book which 
will slip into the pocket, yet tell all that it is desirable 
to know, offhand, enabling the angler or student to 
recognize at once the fish he has caught or sees in the 
market, and find its name. 

Several pictures are included, showing the fishing 
grounds on various parts of the Pacific Coast, from San 
Francisco, Monterey, or Del Monte, to the Coronados. 

This entire region has made the reputation of Cali- 
fornia by the extraordinary size and number of its 
game fish. The remarkable photographs of living fish 
were taken for the author by Mr. Peter V. Reyes of 
Avalon, in a specially devised tank, by the courtesy 
of the local zoological station, showing them in their 
natural environment. Some of the fishes of this 
region are too large to keep in confinement, and these 



8 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

are shown either mounted or on the gaff, so that they 
may tell their own story as far as possible. Many of 
the fishes are confined to a very restricted region of a 
few hundred miles, and many to Southern California 
only. 

LOCALITIES 

The Pacific Coast is particularly rich in its fishes. 
The sea abounds in them; the rivers and lakes are 
the home of that extraordinary trout, the indigenous 
rainbow, while others have been introduced, so that 
the Pacific Slope of North America, and particularly 
California, has become the most remarkable angling- 
and fishing-ground in the world. This is particularly 
true of Southern California, where a fishing-ground 
has been located about the islands of Santa Catalina 
and San Clemente (a government island), that has at- 
tracted world-wide attention and is visited by over one 
hundred and seventy-five thousand persons annually. 

The fishing regions of the Pacific Slope may be di- 
vided into several districts: 

First — That of the Sierra Nevada, including the 
lakes, such as Tahoe, Klamath, Pend d'Orelle, Lake 
Chelan and others, numbering many hundreds; and 
the rivers, such as the Kern, Truckee, Sacramento, 
Russian, Merced and others. 

Second — The Bay region of San Francisco, with its 
salmon, black bass, striped bass, steelhead and trout. 

Third — The salmon and trout regions of Washing- 
ton and Oregon. 

Fourth — The region about Monterey Bay, including 
the salmon trout in the Soquel, Carmel and other 
rivers. 



One of the Coronado Islands off Coronado Beach, CaUfornia 



Fig. 2 




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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST ii 

Fifth — The lakes and streams of the Sierra Madre, 
and the streams of Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los 
Angeles counties, in Southern California. 

Sixth — The Santa Catalina Islands, off Los Angeles, 
eighteen miles from the city. 

Seventh — San Diego Bay, Coronado, the Coronado 
Islands, offshore. 

Eighth — The long sandy beaches of Redondo, Long 
Beach, Santa Monica, Huntington Beach, Del Mar, 
Newport and other places, affording excellent surf 
fish for angling, — the angler casting from the beach 
or pier for the various fishes which affect the surf. 

SANTA CATALINA 

This region embraces several thousand square miles, 
including the islands of Santa Catalina, San Clemente, 
San Nicholas and Santa Barbara. Santa Catalina 
is about eighteen miles from Los Angeles at its nearest 
point, but the Port of Avalon, on the east end, is about 
thirty-two miles distant. The island is twenty-two 
miles long. It runs northwest and southeast, prac- 
tically parallel to Los Angeles County, off Long Beach, 
San Pedro, Newport, Bolsa Chica, Alamitos and other 
places, and gives a lee for anglers of nearly twenty 
miles. The island is a mountain range, and the bays 
are the mouths of attractive canyons which wind up 
into the interior. 

The island has an area of about fifty-five thousand 
acres, a fine coach road running almost its entire 
length, with trails over its mountains half a mile 
above the sea. It is a park, a garden at sea, winter 
and summer, as so remarkable is the climate that the 



12 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

islands bloom and blossom during the Eastern winter, 
and are delightful in the summer. 

None of the islands, except Santa Catalina, are open 
to the public without a permit, and none, except Santa 
Catalina, have a regular boat service. The latter is a 
port of Los Angeles County, and has a regular town of 
eight or nine thousand inhabitants in summer, and 
daily ocean steamers, one in winter and three in sum- 
mer. There are hotels, boarding-houses, camps, cot- 
tages, in fact, every facility for the visiting angler to 
live either luxuriously or economically. The town 
abounds in shops, and at a long boatman's pier lie 
scores of fine craft which add to the pleasure of the 
angler, and from ten to thirty can be counted any day 
in season trolling along shore thirty miles out at sea, 
yet in water perfectly smooth. 



ANGLING BOATS 

The entire life of the islands of Santa Catalina is 
based upon sport. The local shipyard builds boats 
adapted for the special purpose, eighteen feet long, 
launches of from ten to forty horsepower, with en- 
gines amidship and seats for the anglers facing the 
stern, with rods out to the right and left. There is 
also a fleet of glass-bottom boats for viewing the fish, 
and the famous beauties of the seaweed. Some of 
these hold several hundred people, and are valued at 
from ten thousand to thirty thousand dollars. The 
angling launches range in value from eight hundred 
to thirty-five hundred dollars. There are also many 
small row-boats, yachts, racing-boats, etc. 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 13 
TUNA CLUB 

This club, on the bay of Avalon, is an institution 
well 'known all over the country for its distinguished 
membership and the remarkable catches its members 
have made. The clubhouse stands on the water, and 
is an attractive building with davits for small boats, 
private dock and hoist. On its inner walls are many 
fishes, the catches of its members. This club has sev- 
eral branches, as the " Light Tackle," the " 3-6," and 
it has established a standard of sport on the coast 
that has been felt everywhere. Hand-lines are tabooed, 
and the large fish are all taken on lines and rods so 
light that the story reads like a traditional fish story. 

Nine-ounce rods, six-ounce rods, six- and nine-thread 
lines are the ones most in vogue, as to enter the sum- 
mer and winter tournament of the clubs one must use 
this tackle. The tournament begins May ist and ends 
November ist, and at the club may be seen gold 
badges and silver cups to the amount of several 
thousand dollars, which are contested for with the 
greatest zest. This results in reducing the merciless 
catch of fishes, and, as all are eaten, it is evident that 
the club has done good service along the line of pisca- 
torial philanthropy. 



SANTA BARBARA ISLANDS 

These islands lie east and west opposite Santa 
Barbara, on the Santa Barbara channel, just as the 
Santa Catalina group lies on the Santa Catalina chan- 
neL There are four in the group, — San Miguel, Santa 



14 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

Rosa, Santa Cruz and Ana Capa, while south and 
west lies San Nicholas. 

The fishing about all these islands is excellent, and 
can be reached from Santa Barbara. No regular boats 
run, as all are private property, and permission must 
be had to land on them. Launches to visit the islands 
may be obtained from professional fishermen at Santa 
Barbara, Ventura, San Pedro, Avalon or Santa Cata- 
lina. All these islands are mountainous, and have no 
good harbors. They are sparsely covered with brush 
and low trees, but are extremely interesting to visit. 

CORONADO ISLANDS 

An excellent fishing region is at San Diego, off 
Coronado Beach, at the Coronado Islands, which are 
barren rocks, and the visitor must live on his boat. By 
going out to sea from Coronado along the kelp beds 
large fishes are to be had, such as black sea bass and 
others. 

MONTEREY BAY 

Monterey Bay fishing is but a few hours from San 
Francisco, and Del Monte, Capitola, or Santa Cruz 
afford good points of departure. 

SIERRA NEVADA 

Lake Tahoe is the central point for all this region. 
South, one reaches the Kern river, and north one 
comes to the fine fishing of the Feather river, reached 
from Chico or Klamath Lake, the Rogue river and 
others. 



THE FISHES 

THE LEAPING TUNA 
(Thunnus thynnus) 

THE leaping tuna is a giant mackerel that roams 
the temperate seas of the world in vast schools. 
It appears at Santa Catalina, its spawning- and feed- 
ing-ground, soon after the coming of the flying fishes 
in spring, and remains in normal years until Septem- 
ber 15th, but being a migratory fish, it is very uncer- 
tain. The fish attains a weight of fourteen hundred 
pounds, but the average size of the Santa Catalina fish 
is one hundred and fifty pounds, and the record, two 
hundred and fifty-one pounds, is held by Colonel C. P. 
Morehous. The sixty or seventy members of the 
Tuna Club who have taken a fish of over one hundred 
pounds could tell extraordinary stories of the battle 
to the finish with this remarkable game fish. The 
author's record fish weighed one hundred and eighty- 
five pounds, towed his heavy boat about twelve miles 
in four hours, the boatman fighting against it all the 
time, with no let-up to make it possible to gain an 
advantage. Other contests have lasted from five to 
fourteen hours. The bait is the flying fish, and a six- 
teen-ounce rod, with twenty-four or twenty-one thread 
standard line, are required by the regulations of the 
Tuna Club, as devised for its annual tournament. 

IS 



i6 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

GAME QUALITIES OF TUNA 

Some idea of the qualities of the leaping tuna as a 
game fish can be had from my experience in taking the 
first large tuna with a rod. I had taken a number of 
tunas in this way when, one morning, I had a strike 
which took nearly all the six hundred feet of line. I 
think it was stopped at five hundred and fifty feet. It 
then began to tow the heavy yawl to the northeast, 
directly up the island, having been hooked off Avalon. 
During an hour, in which we were towed four miles, 
I made a desperate effort to stop the fish, but its fierce 
rushes, its downward plunges, gave me the fight of 
my life, and, at the end of an hour, I appreciated the 
fact that I was weaker, and the fish seemingly grow- 
ing stronger. I thought of the remark of an old boat- 
man when I was playing a ten-foot shark in Florida. 
" Massa Fred, if yo' had to wuk like dat yo'd sho' 
think yo'self in hard luck, yo' sho' would, das a fac." 

If you call it work, it was work, but, looking at it 
from the standpoint of sport, to overcome a big fish 
that had all the chances on its side was a different 
matter. 

When we came near Long Point I brought it in 
within one hundred feet of the boat, when it suddenly 
made a rush and, despite my boatman's oars used 
gently, it towed us a mile out to sea, stern-first, then 
out of the calm lee into rough water. When it 
hauled the stern down low, dangerously low, I had to 
give line or swamp; in fact, one big sea nearly 
swamped us and " Jim " had to drop the oars and 
take the bailer, while I held the rod in my left hand 
and bailed with the other, watching the sea and the 




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Leaping Tuna, taken by Col. John E. Stearns of the Tuna Club. Captain 

Farnsworth, gaffer 
Fig. 7 




PHOTO. BY REYES 



Showing the author's Tuna rod in action, and the position in playing a Tuna, 

the launch, gaffer, etc. 
Fig. 8 




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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 25 

tip. I never did so many things at once in my life. 
We were headed out to sea, but suddenly the tuna 
turned and swam directly inshore, swimming stead- 
ily for a mile; then, worried by persistent pumping, 
which consists in lifting the fish with thumb on the 
drag as high as possible, getting it in a foot, then 
dropping the point and reeling for your life, it rose 
to the surface with a vibrant thrill on the line, hit the 
surface with a swirl, as though to get its bearings, then 
came at the boat along the surface like a shot out of 
a gun. It was a magnificent play. Jim and I sprang 
to our feet and watched it, I reeling desperately, totally 
unable to get in the slack, reeling, perhaps, from habit. 
The tuna came within ten feet of the boat, then turned 
in a cloud of spume that drenched us, and dashed off. 
I can only compare it to a flip across the face with a 
glove — a challenge to mortal combat, which we had 
accepted an hour and a half before. 

I stopped the fish before it took all the line, then 
commenced again the heart-breaking task of reeling it 
in. At times I could not turn the handle of the reel, 
could not make an inch, could only press my half- 
paralyzed thumb on the leather brake and hold on to 
the rod. Now the tuna was thrashing about on the 
surface, turning the blue sea into silver filigree ; now 
it plunged into the depths, making the reel cry out; 
then it would come up to one side and whirl around 
the boat as though chased by a shark. 

There was no trick known to fishes this splendid 
game did not play in its effort to beat us, to wear us 
down; but of all them, I think the rush in of two or 
three hundred feet was the most sensational, as, every 
time it came, I wanted to swing my hat and cheer the 



26 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

fish. I was positive it would escape. But a mysteri- 
ous dispensation from St. Zeno must have been given 
us, as, after three hours, I had it nearly on the quarter 
and called for the gaff. But I was too sanguine. I 
had it within twenty feet circling, when suddenly it 
sprang away and dashed to the bottom, only to come 
whirling to the surface again, and dash about the 
boat at a rate that was ominous; then it turned in 
the direction of Avalon and swam steadily on and on. 
To give the details of this contest, with its exciting 
moments, its astonishing plays, its stupendous activ- 
ities, would be impossible, but in the third hour — 
after not a moment's rest — the tuna started down the 
coast and towed us back to Avalon. Here, after 
nearly four hours, and after a ten- or twelve-mile tow, 
I again brought it to the quarter and held it, a glorious 
moment. Jim pushed the gaff over, hooked the fish 
and, for a second or two, held the monster that beat 
the water and tossed the foam in air. Then the gaff 
handle was shivered, and the fish, which we now saw 
well for the first time, and that it was a giant, rushed 
off, taking fifty feet. Again I rounded it up with 
fingers that had no feeling, bracing for a last effort. 
Slowly it came in, circling the boat ; now it was on the 
quarter, and Jim, with a quick movement, slipped a 
larger gaff under it, jerked the big head out of water 
and held it at the rail, while it almost swamped us. 
Then he slipped it in, and the biggest tuna up to that 
time ever taken with rod and reel lay thrashing the 
boat with menacing blows. 

I have taken a number of tunas, but none so thor- 
oughly proved themselves in the game-fish class as 
did this splendid one hundred and eighty-three 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 27 

pounder of 1897; the fish that suggested to me the 
founding of a Tuna Club, that has since become fa- 
mous the world over. Sixty-nine members of the 
Tuna Club have taken these fishes of over one hun- 
dred pounds, and could the stories of all of them be 
secured, the struggles, the master plays, the real bat- 
tles between man and fish, it would make a story of 
great interest, as such a battle has worn out many a 
well-conditioned man. 

Largest Leaping Tuna (Thunnus thynnus) — Over 100 
pounds — Pounds 

Dr. C. F. Holder, Pasadena, Cal., season 1898 . . . 183 
Col. C. P. Morehous, Pasadena, season 1899.... 251 
Gen. A. W. Barrett, Los Angeles, season 1900.. 164 
Mrs. E. N. Dickerson, N. Y. City, season 1901..216 
Ernest E. Ford, Alhambra, Cal., season 1902.... 174 

John E. Stearns, Los Angeles, year 1902 197 

Gen. A. W. Barrett, Los Angeles, season 1904.. 131 

P. S. O'Mara, Salt Lake City, season 1909 153 

L. G. Murphy, Converse, Ind., season 1910 175/4 

THE YELLOW-FIN TUNA 
(Thunnus macropterus) 

This fish is called the haranaga in Japan, where it 
has long been well known, also at Honolulu, but in 
1907 it appeared in Southern California for the first 
time, so far as known, in twenty or more years, and af- 
forded great sport with the nine-ounce tackle de- 
scribed. At first glance it resembles the leaping tuna, 
but it averages about sixty pounds and is more sym- 
metrical. Its tail and fins are of a beautiful lemon 
tint; the upper portion is greenish, the belly a vivid 
silver; altogether it is one of the most beautiful fishes 



28 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

of the sea. It appeared in large schools coming up 
from the south and took sardine bait vigorously, and 
afforded anglers much sport. The peculiarity of the 
sport was that this tuna played and fought on the 
surface, and towed boats about for hours. It appeared 
in company with long-finned tunas and bonitos, and 
was very tame. I had my boatman toss over bait and 
a swarm of fishes would rise out of the depths to seize 
it, and among them this beautiful tuna from Japan, 
as clever as a trout ; the others would seize the baited 
hook at once, but not the yellow-fin; he swam about 
picking up the bits of sardine, but always avoiding 
the one which concealed the hook. The year before 
these fishes bit with avidity and afforded splendid 
sport to the rod and reel fishermen. 

THE YELLOW-FIN AS A GAME FISH 

The sudden appearance of the yellow-fin tuna in 
Catalina waters created a sensation, and it at once 
assumed a position as one of the finest of game fishes, 
and, so far as actual sport is concerned, may be com- 
pared to its gigantic cousin, the leaping tuna. 

The yellow-fin is common in the waters of Japan 
and the Hawaiian Islands ; in fact, Japanese waters are 
supposed to be its home, and a Japanese specific name 
has been given it by Jordan; so that its appearance 
on American shores may be considered more or less 
accidental, the schools doubtless following the Black 
Current of Japan. 

To see a yellow-fin tuna in the water, swimming 
about, is worth a pilgrimage to California alone, as it 
is a beautiful fish. It combines a cleverness of its 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 29 

own with the strength of the tuna. Its distinctive 
feature as a game fish is its method of playing, which 
is almost entirely on the surface. 

The tackle used is the nine-ounce rod and line, 
though a more certain method is to use a regular tuna 
outfit, baiting with a large smelt or sardine. My own 
unsuccessful methods were casting from a standing 
boat into a school. While the fish would take the bait 
I threw over, I never could lure one into taking my 
hook. Mr. L. P. Streeter of the Tuna Club tells me 
that nearly all the fish he took in the first year of 
their appearance made a splendid straight-away rush 
on the surface, the ideal thing to do from an angler's 
standpoint, as the pumping or lifting (see p. 25) of 
these big fish in deep waters is one of the melancholy 
features of rod fishing in blue water with possibly 
half a mile beneath one. 

To save the fish there was but one thing to do ; that 
was, to follow. So Mr. Streeter had his boatman. 
Captain Fisher, put on full speed as soon as they 
could turn, and they chased the tuna for several miles. 
In the course of an hour or more they succeeded in 
bringing the fish alongside and gaffing it, but not until 
it had made a most gallant fight for liberty. Com- 
paratively few of these big fishes have been taken. 
The records are as follows : 

Largest Yellow-fin Tuna (Thunnus macropterus)— 
Over 50 pounds — 

* Arthur J. Eddy, Chicago, 111., season 1906 ... 60 

* E. J. Polkinhorn, Torreon, Mex., season 1907 . . 50^ 

The yellow-fin is very uncertain in its movements; 
some seasons not coming at all, again being found in 



30 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

numbers, but not biting. In point of fact, the entire 
tuna tribe, if we except the albacore, is whimsical — 
" uncertain, coy and hard to please." 



THE OCEANIC BONITO 

(Gymnosarda pelarays) 

In the spring, and often in summer, a mackerel-like 
fish about two feet in length, richly striped with dark 
longitudinal waving lines, comes in to the Southern 
California coast and affords excellent sport. I have 
never seen one over twelve pounds, but this oceanic 
bonito has the fighting power of a fish of twice the size, 
and, as it often plays on the surface, it gives the 
angler a fine test of skill and endurance. The bait and 
tackle is the same as in the case of the long-fin, a nine- 
ounce rod, though I have often taken them with the 
six-ounce rod, known as the 3-6, which is really the 
tackle best adapted to it. 

This bonito is found at sea and is a wide rover. Its 
eggs are deposited at sea and little is known of its 
habits, owing to its wandering nature. It doubtless 
goes south in winter, ranging north in summer. 

OCEANIC BONITO AS A GAME FISH 

The bonito, with its silver body and decided black 
stripes, is a splendid catch, as it can always be counted 
on for a hard, strenuous, stubborn fight. The method 
of taking it is by trolling alongshore a little fcirther out 
than for a yellowtail, or on the grounds of the albacore, 
with sardine or smelt bait or a Wilson spoon. The 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 31 

latter is effective, but rather expensive, the spoon cost- 
ing from fifty cents to one dollar, and a large fish is 
more than likely to carry it off. The little bonito, com- 
pared to the tuna, its second cousin, is a voracious 
fish. It generally strikes on the run, and never stops, 
its rush being so impetuous that, like the tuna, it 
hooks itself if the rod is held firmly, as it should be, 
the thumb pressed on the brake or leather with just 
sufficient force to prevent overrunning of the line. 

The splendid play of this twelve-pound fish is amaz- 
ing to the tyro, as, when it is finally stopped, it surges 
downward, then around in long reaches, nearly always 
on the surface, so that the angler stands, and, with 
the butt of the light rod in the leather socket of the 
belt, plays it with all the accumulated delights of the 
sport. Rarely will this fish sulk, more often being 
seen on the surface, fin out, dashing this way and 
that with the rapid movements of all of the bonitos, 
often falling a victim to the small but savage bonito- 
sharks, which, scenting the blood, follow and drive it 
to even fiercer efforts to escape. The bonito is sup- 
posed to run in schools, but I have seen them in 
great masses. They are widely distributed, generally 
running in pairs, though possibly they assemble at 
times in compact schools, like the barracuda and tuna. 
Like others of the kind, they spawn on the high seas, 
the eggs floating; the young, with others, find their 
first protection beneath masses of floating kelp and 
weed. 

That the bonitos go south or out to sea in winter is 
well known, as it is the exception to catch them at that 
season. They evidently follow the food supply to 
some offshore bank, or, like the birds, go to the south. 



32 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

to return in spring and summer to contribute to the 
admirable food fishes of the region. 

LONG-FIN TUNA 
(Thunnus alalunga) 

The long-fin tuna appears in Southern California 
in early spring and, in mild seasons, remains the year 
round. It is as thick-set a fish as can be found, and 
while they have been seen as heavy as one hundred 
pounds, the average v^^eight is thirty pounds. It is a 
deep-water fish, that is, is found offshore about two 
miles, but is caught at or near the surface, taking a 
bone, jig or sardine bait. By drifting and chumming, 
this tuna can be lured to the surface, where it will bite 
as fast as the bait is tossed over. I have placed a sar- 
dine on the end of a gaff and lifted in a thirty-pound 
albacore (as it is also called), and, I think, under some 
circumstances they would almost take bait from my 
hand. The Tuna Club recommends a nine-ounce rod 
and a nine-thread line for them, six hundred feet of 
the latter being used with a long wire leader and a 
number seven hook. These fishes have an extraor- 
dinary long side fin, and are very active in their mo- 
tions. They run in well-distributed schools, covering 
large areas. They prey upon sardines, smelt and all 
small fry, and their greatest value is in angling, the 
fish making a wonderfully game play with the rod, it 
often requiring half an hour to land one. 

TAKING A LONG-FIN TUNA 

This tuna rarely, if ever, comes in near shore. In 
CaUfornia it is never taken off beaches ; it is essentially 
a deep-water fish, keeping to the main channels and 




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Record Bonito, Sarda chlliensis, of the Tuna Club. Taken by Miss Edith 

Holder. Los Angeles, California. 
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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 41 

the high seas. The most famous place for it is off 
Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, about two miles, in 
water as smooth as a lake, owing to the situation of 
the island. Here often ten or twenty launches of the 
type described on page 12 will be seen moving slowly 
about, the two anglers, with rods to right and left, 
trolling for the game. The moment a strike comes the 
gaffer stops the engine and tosses some bait overboard 
to keep the school about the boat, and the sport is on, 
as now both anglers have bending rods. The long-fin 
runs up to one hundred pounds, but the fish usually 
caught are between twenty-five and thirty pounds. 
The long-fin tuna soon shows his game qualities with 
a desperate and rod-racking rush into the depths. 
There is but one thing to do, and that is to let him 
have his way and gently check him. The amount of 
line a twenty-pound fish will take depends upon the 
tackle; usually the nine-ounce rod is employed, but 
the fish is also taken on the six-ounce and the 
thread of a line that goes with it, and then the time is 
almost doubled. In any event, twenty or thirty min- 
utes of play are devoted to the fish, making a hard 
game fight before he is brought to the surface and 
seen coursing along, a thing of beauty, with big star- 
ing hypnotic eyes, and long side fins, like poniards. 

At last he comes in and is gaffed, and so plentiful are 
these fishes that an endless number could be caught if 
desired. 

The long-fin tuna moves in great well-distributed 
schools, not in a compact mass, and is generally as- 
sociated with the various bonitos and often with the 
tuna and the yellow-fin tuna. All these fishes are often 
seen trying for the bait. They feed on small fishes— 



42 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

sardines, mackerel and squid; the larger ones prey on 
the flying-fish, driving them into the air. 

The long-fin tuna is known in many seas, but 
there is but one species, though it has many names. 
The name albacore is given to the leaping tuna in 
some waters. It is always a pelagic, deep-sea fish; 
that is, it lives on or near the surface, in deep water, 
following ships, and in many ways showing its so- 
ciability. In California it is now used as a food fish. 

The Tuna Club rod records are as follows : 

Largest Albacore— 
Chas. W. Miller, Denver, Colo., season 1901 ... 30 
Ernest Fallon, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1902. . . 38 
John Van Liew, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1903. 38 
Stewart Ingram, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1904. 46 
I. C. Pillster, Denver, Colo., season 1905 48 

* Gustave J. Frickman, N. Y. City, season 1906. 38^ 
*A. B. Cass, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1907 41^ 

* C. R. Sturdevant, Pasadena, Cal., season 1908. 43^ 
*J. W. Mclntyre, Catlin, 111., year 1908 6554 

* S. A. Guy, Shreveport, La., season 1909 43^ 

*W. N. McMillan, Nairobi, E. Africa, winter 

season 1909-10 50 

* H. A. Omson, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1910.. 37^ 

* C. R. Guertler, New York, winter season 1910-11 .51^ 

THE CALIFORNIA BONITO 

(Sarda chilensis) 

This article was written in 19 10. Since then this 
fish is followed by large steamers and canned as 
tunny. 

The ordinary bonito or skipjack is very common 
off the California coast, and is one of the most highly 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 43 

esteemed game fishes. I have never seen one over 
twenty pounds in weight, and the average fish is 
about eight pounds. It is the humming-bird of the 
fishes, quick as a flash, dashing here and there, and 
with its coat of many colors, a thing of incomparable 
beauty. It is short and very thick-set, the upper 
portion a vivid blue, the lower silver, with dark lines 
lengthwise; the tail is always in motion, wriggling 
violently and sending the little fish along at a pro- 
digious rate of speed. When taken from the water 
it is seen to be enveloped in a marvelous investment 
of color, so that it gleams and scintillates like a hum- 
ming-bird. It is very tame, approaches the boat, and 
is taken with the 3-6 tackle described, or a heavy eight- 
ounce trout rod for small ones, though the twenty- 
pounder referred to was played for one hour on a nine- 
ounce rod and made a most extraordinary fight. The 
charm of the bonito as a game fish lies in the fact that 
it plays on the surface almost entirely and rarely sulks. 
The best fishing-ground for the bonito is two miles off 
Avalon Bay, California, where it is found in company 
with the long-fin tuna and the " yellow-fin." It 
rarely, if ever, approaches the islands and is never 
found near the mainland beaches or surf. 

It is caught in deep blue water, but on the surface, 
either by trolling or by casting when the fish are lo- 
cated, and it can be kept around the boat by chumming. 
Its habits are not definitely known, but it comes north 
in spring, leaves in winter, and doubtless deposits its 
spawn on the surface of the Santa Catalina channel. 



44 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

THE YELLOWTAIL 
(Seriola dorsalis) 

Those who have taken the Amber Jack of Florida 
will recognize the yellowtail as a second cousin, longer 
and more slender, but with a green vestment above, 
silver below, a single stripe of yellow, with finlets the 
same, which, with its large lustrous eyes, makes it one 
of the most attractive of fishes. It is a desperate 
fighter. I have seen a twenty-pounder give a man the 
buck fever so that he dropped the rod. The yellow- 
tail is par excellence a Southern California fish, though 
it is found down and up the coast and in the Gulf of 
California, but to be seen at its best and in the great- 
est numbers one should go to San Clemente or Santa 
Catalina Island. The fish attains a weight of one hun- 
dred pounds and a length of nearly five feet, but the 
average fish weighs about twenty pounds, heavy 
enough for either " duffer " or expert. The yellow- 
tail arrives in Southern California about March and 
remains until December, and ranges as far north as 
Santa Barbara, rarely to Monterey, and some years it 
is taken at Avalon every week in the year, when the 
winters are mild and dry. In winter it goes south and 
off into deep water, being occasionally taken on the 
outer banks at that time. The tackle for the yellow- 
tail should be the nine-ounce rod described, but the 
Tuna Club has a branch, the 3-6, devised especially 
for yellowtail, which gives this splendid fish the ad- 
vantage. The rod weighs six ounces, the line is a six- 
thread, and with this fish up to forty pounds have been 
taken. The record rod catch of yellowtail is a sixty- 
one pounder. The hook for yellowtail is a 7° or 10", 




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Sword Fish weighing over 300 pounds taken with rod and 

reel by Col. John E. Stearns at Santa Catalina Islands. 
Fig. 21 




PHOTO. BY REYES 



rnuiu. BY KtYti 

Tuna Club Rod Record Sword Fish, 339 Pounds, caught by Hon. C. G. Conn. 

Captain Farnsworth, gaffer. 
Fig. 22 





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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 49 

according to occasion. If fish of ordinary size are 
desired, sardine bait is used. If large fish, forty or 
fifty pounds, are running, then a flying-fish is used, 
weighing ,a pound or so. The delicate line has a wire 
leader with several swivels. Trolling with eighty feet 
of line is the usual plan, but if the fish are in abun- 
dance the angler can allow the boat to drift, and cast. 
When hooked, the yellowtail makes a series of vicious 
runs that are irresistible, taking line and often break- 
ing it. If there is any obstacle near, kelp or a pile, 
the clever yellowtail will rush at it and break the line 
at once. When it has exhausted all its tricks it sulks 
and sulks until the angler raises it by " pumping " on 
the rod, when it will repeat indefinitely its rushes or 
plays. It can be said that the yellowtail depicts the 
" Ultima Thule " of gaminess. It may be worn out and 
gaffed, but it is never conquered, it never surrenders. 

Largest Yellowtail (Seriola dorsalis) — 

F. V. Rider, Avalon, Cal., season 1898 41 

F. S. Gerrish, Jacksonville, Fla., season 1899 37 

R. F. Stocking, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1899.. 48 

T. S. Manning, Avalon, Cal., season 1901 33 

Dr. Trowbridge, Fresno, Cal., season 1902 4^% 

F. P. Newport, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1903. . 46 

H. Meyst, Chicago, 111., season 1904 44 

J. E. Pflueger, Akron, Ohio, season 1905 43 

*A. A. Carraher, Avalon, Cal., season 1906... 38^ 

* Edward C. Sacks, Butte, Mont., season 1907., 4134 
*W. W. Simpson, England, season 1908 60^ 

* C. E. Ellis, Spokane, Wash., season 1909 48^ 

fC. G. Conn, Avalon, Cal., winter season 1909- 

10 405/^ 

*Dr. B. F. Alden, San Francisco, season 1910.. 45% 
*Mrs. Evel5nie Garrett, Los Angeles, winter 

season 1910-11 45 



50 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

THE BLACK SEA BASS 
(Stereolepis gigas) 

Probably no catch ever made with rod and reel has 
so taxed the credulity of the layman and general public 
of the Atlantic coast as that of the black sea bass of 
Santa Catalina waters. On the face of it it appears 
preposterous to ask any one to believe that a three 
hundred-pound fish can be taken with a line so small 
that it will lift but forty-two pounds, or two pounds 
to the thread or strand; yet this is a very common 
catch here from June to October. Imagine an 
ordinary five-pound black bass by magic lengthened 
out in good and comely proportions to six or seven 
feet, and given an avoirdupois of several hundred 
pounds, and you have the black sea bass, jewfish or 
June fish, the gigantic sea bass of California, peculiar 
to the region and the gulf. It is not to be confused 
with the jewfish of Florida; it is an entirely different 
fish, a free swimmer, taking to deep water or outer 
banks in winter, coming inshore in summer to make 
its home on the submarine slopes of the great mountain 
islands of California, where their spawn is deposited, 
but the young rarely, if ever, seen. The black sea 
bass frequents the vast kelp beds, which shelter the 
regions near shore, in water about forty feet deep, 
though they are often seen in shallow water. 

It is a most interesting sight, this giant of the kelp 
groves. I was with Dr. Gifford Pinchot, anchored on 
a submarine mountain spur of San Clemente a few 
years ago, in September, lying on deck looking down 
into the marvelous blue of the water, when suddenly 
I saw a black sea bass swim up the side of the 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 51 

mountain. It must have been five or six feet long, 
ordinarily a most conspicuous object, yet so marvelous 
was its adaptation to the blue of the sea and the mystic 
aurelian tint of the rock, that it was with great diffi- 
eulty that I could follow it, although the water was 
not over fifteen feet deep. Its movements were ex- 
tremely graceful, slow and dignified. Another time 
I watched a large black sea bass swimming through 
the kelp ; saw it take my bait and observed the riotous 
rush when it was hooked. 

These giant bass, which attain a weight of one 
thousand pounds, vary much in appearance. Some 
are long and rangy, well-proportioned; others are 
short and stout. But they average well, and all, in 
the main, when alive, are attractive fishes and most 
graceful in their movements. That so enormous a 
creature is a powerful foe goes without saying, and 
that it is now taken with tuna tackle (p. 15) is more 
than astounding. But the Tuna Club has many 
medals, cups and trophies which have been won by 
anglers from all over the world for taking them with 
sixteen-ounce rods and a twenty-one-thread line. 

There are various ways of fishing for the big bass. 
It can be taken by trolling a whitefish slowly along, 
ten feet from the bottom. This is rarely attempted, 
as it is uncertain, but that it is plausible is shown 
by the fact that many anglers, when pulling in a line, 
have seen the big bass come up with a stupendous 
rush for it, exactly as a black bass will charge a min- 
now. Another way, and that most followed, is to 
anchor a launch. Fig. 19, near shore and a kelp bed, 
in water forty or fifty feet deep. The cable should be 
made ready to cast off and buoy. The line, exactly 



52 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

like that used in tuna fishing, is baited with a 
six- or eight-pound live whitefish or a big piece of al- 
bacore; provided with a heavy sinker, it is lowered 
to within six or eight feet of the bottom; the wait 
then begins. Sometimes the lure is taken at once. I 
have had strikes as soon as it reached the bottom and 
have taken three fish in rapid succession. Again the 
wait may be a long one. 

The strike of this fish is a nibble, then a gentle 
running out of the line, exactly the reverse of that 
of the tuna. The angler slacks away ten or twenty 
feet, then allows the line to come taut and, in the 
technical terms of angling, gives the fish " the butt." 
It is then that the boatman tosses the buoy overboard, 
and the boat, if a small one, is towed away after the 
fish, which makes a desperate rush out to sea. At 
first all that can be done is to press on the brake and 
try to stop the line from running out, without break- 
ing it. I have hooked fishes of this kind that I could 
not move, nor could any one in the boat. Generally 
the bass will endeavor to reach a kelp bed and wind 
itself among the trunks of these submarine trees; so 
the boatman's endeavor is to induce the fish to swim 
out to sea, pulling it away from danger ; once in fairly 
deep water beyond the kelp zone, an opportunity is 
afforded to play it to a finish. I have brought an 
eighty-pounder to gaff with a nine-ounce rod in less 
than twenty minutes, and have played another, an un- 
seen fish, for hours with a sixteen-ounce rod and 
never could land him. 

There is a great difference in these fishes. Some are 
active and hard to land; others are merely heavy; 
but the average is a hard-fighting desperate load to 




PHOTO BY REYES 

The Remora of the Swordfish, Echemh remora. Santa Catalina. 



Fig. 24 




The Bonito Shark. A rod catch by Mr. Sharp. Jim Gardner, boatman. 
Fig. 29 




Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrna zygaena. Taken on rod. 



Fig. 30 




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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 6i 

lift, making the game one of excitement to the finish. 
For hours boats have been towed by these big fishes; 
the angler who lands one certainly earns his sport. 
At the end of the struggle the big fish will appear 
near the surface, and when the gaff reaches his under 
jaw and he is held, he tosses water over the boat and 
makes a brave display of his power and strength. The 
fish is then taken in tow, if very large, or hauled up 
on the stern by block and tackle and taken inshore to 
be weighed by the weighing committee of the Tuna 
Club, as there are records, cups, medals and trophies 
which go to the breaker of existing records. 
The rod records of the Tuna Club are as follows: 

Largest Black Sea Bass (Stereolepis gigas) — 

F. V. Rider, Avalon, Cal., season 1898 327 

T. S. Manning, Avalon, Cal., season 1899 372 

F. S. Schenck, Brooklyn, N. Y., season 1900 384 

C. A. Thomas, Pomona, Cal., season 1901 384 

H. T. Kendall, Pasadena, Cal., season 1902 419 

Edward Llewellyn, Los Angeles, season 1903 . . . 425 

H. L. Smith, New York City, season 1904 402 

L. G. Murphy, Converse, Ind., season 1905 436 

C. H. Earle, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1906 372 

C. J. Tripp, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1907 427 

Lloyd B. Newell, Los Angeles, Cal., season 1908. 380 

R. C. Baird, San Francisco, Cal., season 1909 394 

Jesse Roberts, Philadelphia, Pa., season 1910 385 

THE SANTA CATALINA SWORDFISH 

There are two swordfishes found on the California 
coast — the common Eastern swordfish, Xiphias, and 
the Santa Catalina swordfish, Tetrapturus. The 
former is taken with the harpoon and is not consid- 
ered a game fish, attaining a weight of from six hun- 



62 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

dred to eight hundred or more pounds. The latter 
rarely runs over three hundred pounds, the average 
being about one hundred and fifty pounds, this medium 
weight making it available as a rod and reel catch. 
The Catalina swordfish is long and slender ; one of the 
most beautiful fishes in the world, being garbed in a 
purple coat of extraordinary brilliancy. Its sword is 
much shorter than in the larger fish, more of a poniard 
than a sword, and the fish has virtually two, as the 
lower jaw is sharp and dangerous. Its eye is large 
and black, its belly silver, its back royal-purple. Its 
top fin is tall and set into a scabbard ; its tail is large 
and crescent-like. In fact, no more debonair swash- 
buckler ever swam the seas than this fish, which at- 
tains an extraordinary size. 

At times it runs in vast schools, but when it ap- 
pears at San Clemente and Santa Catalina in July, 
August and September, it is generally in pairs, and is 
seen either leaping or swimming slowly along, its tall 
dorsal and the upper lobe of its tail high above the 
water, a conspicuous object. 

As might be expected, the tackle for such game 
must be of the strongest, and that already described 
for leaping tuna is used. To make the capture 
more satisfactory the angler generally sits in a rowboat 
or skiff and is towed behind a launch, with about one 
hundred and fifty feet of line out, and flying fish bait. 
The moment a strike comes the skiff casts off and the 
boatman takes the oars, while the launch lies off and 
follows the game at a safe and reasonable distance. 
The swordfish, like a tarpon, has a very hard mouth, 
hence when the strike comes the angler pays out line, 
often twenty or more feet, to give the swordfish an 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 63 

opportunity to fully take it. Then the " butt " is 
given, and if the fish is hooked it will often go into 
the air in a wild and clumsy leap, falling back on its 
side with a crash — a totally different leap from that 
of the tarpon or tuna. Now, if well hooked, the fight 
is on and the swordfish will make a run calculated to 
give any man's nerves a test. A big fish has been 
known to walk off with six hundred feet of line and 
leave the angler nothing for his pains. But the aver- 
age fish is stopped before this catastrophe occurs, and 
then it is that the swordfish of the sea will demon- 
strate that he is the king of all big game fishes, so far 
as spectacular play is concerned, which is saying a 
good deal, having the tarpon in view. A lively tar- 
pon will jump ten or twelve times; a swordfish has 
been known to leap fifty times before it was caught. 
I once followed Dr. Gifford Pinchot when playing a 
swordfish. Before I caught up with the skiff the fish 
had jumped twenty times, and how many it jumped in 
the two-hour night chase I do not know; but Dr. 
Pinchot brought it to gaff fourteen times before he 
at last got it. This fish swam away with the skiff 
at a five-mile per hour rate with great ease, and 
afforded a wonderful illustration of all the qualities 
known as game — leaping, slashing, charging, this way 
and that — in all, a most exhilarating fish to have on a 
cobweb of a line. 

Some years ago, having taken swordfish in Florida 
on line and with the grains, I offered a swordfish cup 
to the Tuna Club, which has now several names on it. 
Through the adventures of Messrs. Stearns, Conn, 
Pinchot and others the Santa Catalina swordfish has 
taken its place as the great game fish of the world, re- 



64 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

garding it from the standpoint of sensational play. 
The swordfish is taken from launches with tuna tackle, 
but it lends excitement and interest to take it from 
a small skiff, towed astern, that can be cast off at 
the strike and towed away by the fish. The angler 
should insist on the launch, and a sea-going one, lying 
by, as in the case of Mr. Pinchot and myself, off San 
Clemente, a catastrophe might well have happened in 
a heavy sea and fog in a two-hundred-pound skiff. 

The visitor to the Tuna Club will see two mag- 
nificent specimens — the swordfish of Colonel John E. 
Stearns, the other that of Mr. Conn — not only splendid 
trophies, but fishes which suggest literal battles of 
the sea where sportsmen met the big and dangerous 
game with line so light that the layman will not be- 
lieve that a fish of its size could be taken with it, as it 
appears to be manifestly absurd. Yet it is true to 
the letter, as the Tuna Club is most careful of its 
records. 

The swordfish preys on fishes of all kinds ; dashing 
into schools of mackerel and sardines, cutting them 
down, then picking up the pieces. It is very pug- 
nacious, and some extraordinary battles have been wit- 
nessed between the fishes. 

The swordfishes spawn in the open sea and the 
young are at first very different from the adults. Very 
little is known as to their habits. 

The rod records of the Tuna Club are as follows, and 
it should be remembered that the records were won 
on rods weighing not over sixteen ounces and lines 
not over twenty-one- or twenty-four-thread. In a 
word, these splendid trophies have been won in open 
dangerous fights at sea where swordfish had every 




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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 69 

possible advantage. If the reader desires data relating 
to the vicious nature of swordfishes, he will find a list 
of scores of boats and ships that were rammed, sunk 
or damaged by them, compiled by Professor G. Brown 
Goode, of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington. 

Largest Swordfish (Tetrapturus mitsukurii) — 

Edward Llewellyn, Los Angeles, season 1903 125 

Ernest Fallon, Los Angeles, season 1905.... 128 

Geo. E. Pillsbury, Jr., Los Angeles, season 1908.. 138 

C. G. Conn, Elkhart, Ind., season 1909..- 339 

John E. Stearns, Los Angeles, season igio 392 



THE HALIBUT 

One flat fish, a cousin of the little sanddab, found in 
California waters, is the halibut, which may be found 
up to sixty or seventy pounds and is considered a game 
fish. On the walls of the Tuna Club hangs a halibut 
which weighs sixty pounds, taken by Mr. Rotherham 
with what was literally a trout rod, after a fight of over 
an hour. The halibut can be found on sandy bottoms 
at the entrance to the mouths of the various canyons, 
and is often taken when trolling, coming up after the 
bait with a strange undulatory motion. The young 
of these fishes, when born, have an eye on each side, 
but as the fish grows and falls on its side, one eye 
travels over, until, in the adult fish, we have the 
two eyes on the top side. In some of the flat fishes 
(flounders) of Japan the eye is said to pass through 
instead of going around — a remarkable fish story. 

It is impossible in the scope of this little book, 
intended as the briefest possible handbook of the fishes 
of the Pacific coast, of value to the angler, to do more 



70 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

than mention all the fishes which may be caught, as the 
interesting convict fish with its stripes, Fig. 23, the 
remora with sucking disc. Fig. 24, which rides about 
on sharks, turtles and swordfish ; the beautiful kelp fish, 
which builds a nest and mimics the kelp and hangs in 
it in strange positions. The great red grouper or 
rockfish, found in deep water, and a valuable food 
fish; the strange lance-like lizard fish. Fig. 25, with 
fierce teeth; the little parrot fish. Fig. 26; the little 
kelp fishes and many more found everywhere. 

In deep water we find the ghostfish. Fig. 27, or 
king of the salmon : the marvelous ribbon fish, Fig. 28, 
like a beautiful satin ribbon, fifteen or twenty feet 
long, with brilliant vermilion fins 6r plumes. This 
fish attains a length of thirty or more feet and is 
probably the foundation of many of the sea-serpent 
stories. In deeper water, occasionally coming in, is 
the Indian-head fish, with beautiful colors ; the savage 
walking fish, and many others, rarely seen by any 
one, but all adding to the interest in the sea which 
abounds in the most bizarre and interesting forms. 

SHARKS 

Sharks are hardly included among game fishes, yet 
the bonito-shark, found in California waters, of about 
thirty pounds, leaps into the air when hooked and 
affords a very good imitation of a game fish. So 
with the oil-shark, beautifully marked. I have taken 
it up to sixty pounds on a nine-ounce rod from the 
beach; had it been a salmon instead of a shark, the 
play it made would have been considered remarkable. 

The sharks captured off the islands of San Clemente 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 71 

and Santa Catalina in summer with rod and reel tax 
the credulity of those who read, but the accounts are 
reliable. It is not considered remarkable to kill sharks 
ten feet long with tuna tackle. Mr. Gilmour Sharp 
has taken such a bonito-shark — a monster big enough 
to dine on a man. It was played for several hours on 
a twenty-one line, and killed after a long and deter- 
mined fight. The great sharks follow the tunas, 
bonito and other schools of fish, occasionally dash- 
ing into them like tigers and carrying off their prey. 
A large so-called grouper or land shark is also taken 
here, but the really game shark is the long lithe 

HAMMERHEAD 

It is ten or more feet in length, and weighs from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. This shark 
is a most forbidding creature. To show its strength, I 
hooked one about ten feet in length, which towed me 
a mile out to sea and was never stopped until five 
skiffs tied on, the men all rowing as hard as they 
could. Not until I had its big ugly hammer-like head 
triced up to the skiff did it give in, and it then more 
than once almost tipped over the light craft. If one 
wishes a battle with a spice of danger, a hammerhead 
with rod and reel from a skiff can be commended. 

THE BARRACUDA 

The Florida barracuda is a solitary game fish, with 
the courage of its convictions and the staying qualities 
of a bull terrier. Its California cousin is a totally dif- 
ferent fish. It is smaller, rarely exceeding fifteen 



72 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

pounds, goes in close schools, though sometimes break- 
ing up, and is to be compared to the fresh-water 
pickerel as a game fish; it is, in fact, a failure com- 
pared to the rest of the finny tribe found in these 
waters. It appears in early spring in vast schools 
coming from the south, and is followed with net and 
line, sardine or bone, by the professional fisher- 
men, who consider it one of the most valuable sum- 
mer food fishes. I have taken it with an eight-ounce 
split bamboo, and some individuals afford some sport 
on such tackle; but the average fish comes in very 
readily and shortly gives up the fight. 



THE MACKEREL 

In early spring vast schools of mackerel come up 
the coast and afford good sport for anglers with light 
rods. The fish is not the same as the famous Eastern 
mackerel, nor is it so good a food fish ; but as game on 
a light split bamboo no one would criticise it. When 
the fish are biting they are exceedingly voracious, and 
the angler can cast at them with an exaggerated fly 
made of a piece of white or red cloth and take them 
in unlimited quantities. These fishes are migratory; 
now in one place, the next day in another, disappear- 
ing in the fall for some unknown resort. 

ROCK BASS 

Another small fish to be caught in unlimited quan- 
tities is the rock bass. It is shaped like the black bass, 
and altogether an attractive fish, with brilliant blue 




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PHOTO. BY REYES 

Tuna Club Record White Sea-bass, 60 Pounds, caught by Mr. C. H. Harding, 

Philadelphia, Pa. 
Figr. 42 




4^ 



PHOTO BY C G CONN 



White Sea-bass, Cynosdon nobilis. Taken by Hon. C. G. 

Conn. 



Fig. 43 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 8i 

eyes, and garnished with many beautiful tints, shades 
and colors. 

It attains a weight of eight or more pounds, and 
with very light tackle affords some sport, though to 
the yellowtail or white sea bass angler it is considered 
a nuisance, as it is an inveterate bait stealer, and in 
places can with difficulty be avoided. It spawns in 
August, when fishes of the largest size are taken close 
inshore. 

This fish is of the type of a number of so-called 
rock fishes, groupers and others, among the most im- 
portant fishes of the coast. 

SHEEPSHEAD 

Another bottom fish, found in comparatively shallow 
water, is the sheepshead, totally different from the 
sheepshead of the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico ; a large 
fish, with a prominent domed head and perpendicular 
stripes, black and red. The male. Fig. 32, is a most 
striking creature ; the dome, jet black, the lower jaw 
pure white. The fish has a peculiar habit, like the 
Southern parrot fishes, of rolling its eyes about. 

The female. Fig. 33, is very different in appearance, 
being gray or white or all red, without the dome. The 
young are beautiful and graceful little creatures. The 
sheepshead feeds on shellfish, crabs and various ani- 
mals, and, in the shallow water of San Clemente, can 
be seen in great numbers moving slowly about, using 
its side fins in a peculiar manner. 

The large males often attain a weight of twelve 
pounds, and are hard fighters on 3-6 tackle. The bait 
most effective for them is crayfish or abalone, though 



82 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

they will take sardine at times. Any rocky bottom 
in fairly shallow water abounds in these highly col- 
ored fishes. 

BLUE-EYE PERCH 

With the sheepshead are found a number of small 
fishes which, when approached with proper tackle, af- 
ford excellent sport. One is the blue-eye perch. Figs. 
34> 35> of five or six pounds; a very attractive little 
fish adapted to an eighteen-ounce split bamboo with 
abalone bait. 

THE BLACKSMITH 

Another small fish, but a hard fighter on the same 
tackle, is the bluefish of two or three pounds, known 
as the blacksmith. 

The boatman who knows the game will anchor at 
White Rock or some point near shore, and, after judi- 
cious chumming to collect them, can provide his 
patron with a delightful change from the big and hard 
fighting game with which all the islands abound. 

These and many of the fishes described are of espe- 
cial interest, as they are peculiar or indigenous to this 
region. With them is seen the brilliant orange-colored 
angel-fish, or golden perch, which sometimes takes 
a small hook. Its young are called electric fish 
by the amateur savants of the glass-bottom boat, as 
they are a vivid blue, almost iridescent, color, seeming 
to flash and sparkle like gems. When very young they 
are entirely blue, but gradually change to yellow as 
they grow older, until, in the adult stage, they are 
entirely yellow or a reddish-yellow. 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 83 
THE MEDIALUNA 

This is a little fish, Fig. 36, rarely caught by the 
angler because it has a small mouth and does not care 
for the invariable sardine or smelt bait. It is found 
about rocky points, as White Rock, and at four or 
five pounds is as game a fish as one could wish, if a 
very light resilient rod is used. It must be baited up 
by chumming, and the lure must be crayfish or 
abalone. 

THE OPAH 
(Lampris luna) 

The angler on these summer seas catches many 
strange or weird fishes, which, while not game in the 
strict sense of the word, add piquancy to the sport. 
One of the rarest fishes of all seas, the opah, is occa- 
sionally taken here. It is so rare that almost every 
individual taken anywhere is on record. I recall four 
or five caught near Santa Catalina, and one, it is said, 
was taken off San Clemente with rod and reel by a 
Long Beach angler. 

The fish attains a weight of seventy pounds. It 
somewhat resembles a sunfish, with large eyes and 
very small mouth ; its colors defy description. Its gen- 
eral tint is pearl or silver, and over it a vestment of 
old rose seems to be drawn ; its fins and tail are a most 
brilliant red or scarlet. As to its habits nothing is 
known. It is seen floating on the surface in summer, 
and doubtless feeds on the small animals of the sea. 



84 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

SUNFISH 
(Mola mola) 

Another strange fish, very common here, is the sun- 
fish. Fig. 39. It is shaped like a great head or face, 
oval or round. Its tail is a rim of muscle, and its 
dorsal and ventral fins are great spikes, making it a 
conspicuous figure in summer as it swims along, fin 
out of water, or lies prone on its side in the sun. Its 
mouth is very small, with massive ivory-like teeth, 
seemingly useless. Its skin is like sandpaper, and 
covered with mucus, which is often phosphorescent at 
night. These fishes grow to an enormous size. Once 
when fishing with Colonel C. P. Morehous, with the 
aid of his boatman, Charles Hammond, I took a sun- 
fish which must have weighed fifteen hundred pounds. 
We ran alongside, and, seizing the tall fin, bent it over 
the rail, gaffing the monster before it woke up, though 
a terrific struggle ensued which almost wrecked our 
launch. So huge was this fish that our launch could 
not tow it, and only by the aid of another launch did 
we manage to tow it into port. I had an excellent op- 
portunity to observe the fish's methods of swimming, 
and later released it uninjured. 

The young of the sunfish are very singular creatures 
not resembling the adult. I have had my boat sur- 
rounded by scores of six- or eight-pounders, and their 
continual leaping was a source of much interest. Cap- 
tain Farnsworth caught one which was estimated at 
half a ton. Mr. McMillan took one almost equally 
large. I have gaffed them in the Atlantic, and had a 
hand in the capture of one at the mouth of the St. 
Johns River, Florida, which must have weighed three- 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 85 

quarters of a ton, all of which shows that the fish has 
a wide range. As to the economic value of the sunfish 
little is known. I should imagine its rough skin was 
of some value; its flesh is used by farmers in Maine 
as a fertilizer. I have seen boys use the white 
muscular tissue as India rubber for balls. The flesh is 
insipid and uneatable. 

MORAY 

There is a large snake-like fish, the moray, Fig. 40, 
in these waters, that occasionally fouls the hook of the 
bottom angler and makes a prodigious fight ; a savage, 
dangerous creature with teeth like a snake, and a 
habit of coiling like a rattlesnake and striking out 
when hauled in. 

With the morays, in rocky places, the angler will 
find the piiff shark, coiled up in the rocks, the Port 
Jackson shark. Fig. 41, with ivory spines in front of 
each ray, and various sculpins, big and little, of value 
to the marketman, but not to the angler. 

FLAT FISHES 

A variety of flat fishes or rays are found on the 
sandy bottoms of California waters. The sting ray, 
with a sharp, rat-like tail, and others more 
or less dangerous to the bather, all with remarkable 
strength on a light rod. One of the largest is the 
angel fish, a seeming cross between a ray and a shark ; 
a fish six or eight feet long, which will swallow a bait 
and evidently go to sleep. 

The most interesting of all these fishes is the elec- 



86 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

trie ray or torpedo. It may be recognized by its round 
or oval shape. Men have been knocked down by the 
shocks they give out. I once took a small one from 
the tank in the Naples aquarium and, by placing one 
hand beneath it, the other on its back, received a shock 
which jerked my arm back violently. Needless to say, 
the torpedo is not a quest of anglers. 

THE WHITE SEA BASS 
(Cynoscion nobilis) 

Sometimes in May, earlier or later according to the 
season and the weather, the voyager in the glass-bot- 
tom boat at Avalon, in peering down into the beauti- 
ful kelp beds, will see, poising in the arches and cav- 
erns of the submarine forests, scores of big fishes re- 
sembling the salmon. They may be three or four 
feet long and weigh forty or fifty pounds. In appear- 
ance they are attractive, well shaped; a gray color 
above, iridescent in the sunlight, silvery below, ideal 
fishes for the rod and reel. This is a giant weakfish, 
a cousin of the Eastern weakfish, known in Southern 
California, particularly at Santa Catalina and San 
Clemente Islands, as the white sea bass, one of the 
finest game fishes of the region. It comes from some- 
where in April, and remains late into the summer. It 
is seen in well-distributed schools up the coast for 
miles at times; in Avalon Bay I have taken five or 
six in a forenoon, none of which were under fifty 
pounds in weight. This bass will take a spoon, a 
sardine in trolling, and is often taken still-fishing 
near shore with live bait. 

The tackle to use is a nine-ounce rod, and a number 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 87 

nine, or even smaller, line, as the bass is not so 
powerful as a yellowtail and can be taken on the 3-6 
tackle described; its play with this tackle is most in- 
teresting. If an eighty-pounder should happen to take 
it, it is needless to say that the angler might lose the 
game. 

I have hooked the white sea bass within five feet of 
the boat; at once the fight was on, the fish making 
splendid rushes away, not seeking the depths (which 
are the despair of the angler) as much as most of the 
fishes described, due to the vast depths about the 
islands and the fact that they are the tops of moun- 
tains rising from the sea. The fish will rush away, 
circle the boat, if in shallow water, and put up a most 
clever fight. As the fish swims in schools, and is 
slow and dignified in its movements, it is an interest- 
ing creature to attempt to catch. One can often move 
upon a school and cast a sardine into it, or, when the 
bass is in a bay, one can lower a bare hook down into 
the often present school of sardines and snag one, 
which will often be taken by a big bass which would 
ignore the countless thousands swimming about it. 

When feeding, the white sea bass becomes greatly 
excited. A school of several hundred will dash into a 
bay or indentation, driving sardines, flying-fish or 
squid out upon the beach. At such times they will 
take bait or a spoon very readily. I have seen thirty 
boats in Avalon Bay, nearly all the occupants of which 
were playing a fish not less than forty pounds in 
weight. One lady was repeatedly towed across the 
bay by an eighty-pounder on the end of a hand-line. 
This day, with a companion in a light skiff, with light 
rods, we took ten white sea bass, five each. At one 



88 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

stage of the game, it was a tug of war, my com- 
panion's fish going astern, while my own dashed ahead ; 
we saved them both. All the fish were over fifty 
pounds in weight. Over one hundred such bass were 
taken this day, May first, not one hundred feet from 
the beach, where scores of people watched the extraor- 
dinary scene of breaking rods and lines, as ten times 
as many fish were hooked as were landed. 

The so-called sea trout of Southern California is a 
small species of this fish, ranging up to twelve or fif- 
teen pounds; it is beautifully spotted. This is 
Cynoscion parvipinnis. In the Gulf of California an- 
other species is found, C. macdonaldi. This fish I have 
taken in Tobari Bay, Gulf of California, with a spoon ; 
they run up to one hundred and fifty pounds in weight. 
These magnificent game fish test the strongest tackle 
and are shown in Fig. 42. 

The white sea bass is a good food fish. In Mon- 
terey Bay it is taken by the ton in nets, and I have 
seen them brought in at Capitola by the boatload for 
shipment to San Francisco ; all were over fifty pounds, 
and ran up to eighty. When fishing for salmon here 
I have found the sea bass a nuisance, hooking them 
continually when trying for the Chinooks; under 
ordinary circumstances one would hardly consider 
such a fish a nuisance. The Tuna Club has special 
prizes and trophies — cups, medallions and medals for 
the angler who breaks the club records. Some of the 
club's catches with rod and reel are as follows: 

Largest White Sea Bass (Cynoscion nobilis) — 
Edward M. Boggs, Oakland, Cal., season 1899.. 58 

Wm. P. Adams, Chicago, 111., season 1903 52 

C. H. Harding, Philadelphia, Pa., season 1904.. 60 




PHOTO. BY REYES 



Bottled-nose Dolphin (mammal). Taken by Col. John E. Stearns. 
Fig. 45 




\- V 



Santa Catalina Flying Fish, Cypselurus californicus. Bait for Tuna. 



Fig. 46 




CO 

u 

C 
O 

6 

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C 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 97 

E. C. Wilson, Denver, Colo., season 1905 36 

*A. L. Beebe, Portland, Ore., season 1906 34 

* Arthur J. Eddy, Chicago, 111., season 1906 34 

* Mrs. E. H. Brewster, Avalon, season 1907 53 

* S. A. Barron, San Dimas, Cal., season 1908... 40 
*A. L. Beebe, Portland, Ore., season 1908.... 40 

fA. L. Beebe, Portland, Ore., season 1909 4634 

*J. W. Frey, Los Angeles, Cal., winter season 

1909-10 5114 

* Benjamin Thaw, Pittsburg, Pa., season 1910.. 44 
*A. E. Eaton, Avalon, winter season 1910-11... 38 

THE DOLPHIN 
(Coryphaena hippurus) 

The dolphin is one of the most beautiful of all 
fishes, its colors, ranging from yellow to green and 
gold, making a glorious shov7 as the fish rises to the 
surface. It is a long, round- or dome-headed fish 
with a splendid dorsal fin from head to tail, which can 
be elevated like a crest or depressed. It is swift of 
movement, brilliant in color, and almost as hard a 
fighter as a yellowtail. It appears at the channel 
islands of California in spring and remains until Oc- 
tober. It is taken with a nine-ounce rod, trolling as 
for yellowtail, or I have seen several lying beneath the 
islands of kelp which float off these islands in sum- 
mer, and, by casting with sardine bait, they could be 
taken with ease, though the fish is among the very 
rare catches and, so far as known, taken with the rod 
nowhere else. It is a world-wide fish, found out at 
sea in all oceans, swimming by ships at the cutwater. 

I have taken the fish in the sargasso beds of the 
Florida Strait, out at sea. The dolphin attains a 
length of five or six feet. There is a smaller species 



98 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

of about two feet. The rod record of the Tuna Club 
is held by Dr. Mattison in a thirty-pound fish. He 
has offered a loving-cup for any one who shall beat his 
record. 

THE RONCADOR 

Along the mainland shores of California, specially 
south of Santa Barbara, there are a number of fishes 
which are found either in the surf or near it, and af- 
ford excellent sport to anglers. Such is the yellow-fin 
roncador (Umbrina sinaloe). Roncador stearnsi is 
another fine fish ; a round-nosed silver and yellow fish, 
delicious for the table, when freshly caught, and a good 
fighter on light tackle. One can often see them in 
small schools from the Redondo, Long Beach and 
other piers, and on the west or south side of Santa 
Catalina, where there is surf. They feed on shellfish 
and the crabs of the sand, and are fished for with 
clams. They go by several names — the yellowfin, surf 
and roncador — and rarely exceed seven pounds in 
weight. The little surf fishes of the coast are inter- 
esting from the fact that the young are born alive. 

FISHING PIERS 

All along the coast of California, but especially from 
Santa Cruz south, every town, as Monterey, Santa 
Cruz, Capitola, Avalon, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, 
Long Beach, Ocean Park, Venice, Naples, Del Mar, 
Sun Set, Coronado and others, all have remarkable 
piers built out into the ocean at great expense, and 
all, or most of them, for the benefit of the angler, 
though many contain shops and many amusements. 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 99 

Here, winter and summer, an eighth of a mile out to 
sea, one will find scores of anglers with long bamboo 
poles fishing, at places like Redondo and Newport, 
where deep water runs inshore, and taking fishes of 
large size. 

BAIT ANIMALS 

There are many animals found in these waters which 
have a distinct relation to the fisheries. The flying- 
fish. Fig. 46, is one. It has four v/ing-like fins and 
weighs about a pound. It is one of the most im- 
portant bait fishes of the region, employed for tuna, 
yellowtail and white sea bass. This is the fish that 
is supposed to fly, but it is merely a living aeroplane. 
Its tail is the screw which, violently whirled about, 
forces it into the air when the large gauze-like wings 
are spread and the fish soars from one-eighth to one- 
quarter of a mile if the wind is favorable. When the 
inertia fails, its tail drops until it touches the water, 
when the whirling is recommenced, forcing the fish into 
the air again. I have seen the wind take these fishes 
like butterflies thirty feet in air. They are the natural 
food of the tuna and, living on the surface, or near it, 
are ever ready to spring into the air in an effort to 
escape. 

SARDINES 
(Clupanodon coeruleus) 

Countless schools of sardines are found about the 
islands. They spawn in the bay of Avalon and in the 
early spring are followed by birds and fishes and also 
by professional fishermen working for the canners. 



100 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

The sardine is very important to the angler, as it is 
the bait par excellence for the great game fishes of 
the region, though a spoon or bone " jig " is often suc- 
cessful. 

SMELT 

(Osmerus) 

Smelt are common on the Pacific coast, attaining a 
length of eight inches. They are also valuable as 
food and bait, but do not rank with sardines. 

ABALONE 

This shellfish, Fig. 47, known as the earshell or 
haliotis, is found on almost every rock about the 
islands not already looted by the Chinese and Japanese. 
They are valuable as food and particularly as bait for 
certain fishes, as sheepshead, whitefish and others. 

The crayfish. Fig. 48, is also a bait and food for 
certain fishes, or was until it became scarce, due to 
the lack of laws in the State of California. There are 
a variety of crabs found in the kelp and on the bot- 
tom; spider crabs of large size, food for various pred- 
atory fishes and of much interest; huge starfishes, 
which clamber over the rocks. Fig. 49 ; sea cucumbers, 
anemones. Fig. 50, and sea urchins; all are eaten by 
certain sharks or rays. In the open water float many 
beautiful animals; giant jelly fishes, twenty or thirty 
feet long, their discs, of lavender or maroon, presenting 
a remarkable appearance as they drift in the blue cur- 
rent, meteors of the sea. Here are myriads of small 
jellies of many shapes, one almost black ; also swarms 
of ascidians, as the chain-like salpa, the fire-body, or 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST loi 

pyrosoma, all of which blaze at night in mystic lights. 
Even the most insignificant animals, as the peridinium 
— an infusorian — often colors the waters near the 
mainland shores red, which at night turns the ocean 
into a seething caldron of vivid flame, so that the en- 
tire Santa Catalina channel appeared to have ignited, 
all caused by a vast congregation of animals invisible 
to the naked eye. Every drop of water is alive, con- 
tributing to the story of the sea and its inhabitants. 

SALMON 
(Oncorhynchus tschawytscha) 

The remarkable diversity of sports in California and 
the Pacific Coast is seen in the fact that in Monterey 
Bay there is fine salmon fishing. The Chinook salmon 
is the one which affords the best sport, although there 
are many kinds found up to Alaska affording fine 
sport about Vancouver Island. 

The big schools of salmon which lie off the mouths 
of the Sacramento in the winter ascend in summer 
and spawn; the majority die in the rivers after the 
spawning. In July and August, with the regularity 
of clockwork, a big school of Chinooks, Fig. 52, is 
found between Monterey and Santa Cruz, and followed 
by scores of professional fishermen and anglers. The 
latter go out from Santa Cruz, Capitola, Carmel and 
Monterey in small launches or boats, and, when the 
school is found, have sport that has made this region 
famous all over the country, and several clubs have 
been organized to prosecute it. 

The fish generally lie thirty or forty feet down, so 
that the line, baited with sardine, anchovy or smelt, 



102 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

is lowered by means of a sinker, and trolled slowly 
along. In rod fishing the sinker is made detachable 
and comes off as soon as the salmon is hooked. The 
fish do not jump to any great extent, but are very 
game and afford fascinating and attractive sport. The 
salmon range up to forty or fifty pounds, but the 
average catch of the writer has been about thirty. 

STRIPED BASS 
(Roccus lineatus) 

Some years ago striped bass were introduced into 
Sacramento River from the East, and have taken their 
place as the game fish par excellence of what may be 
called the San Francisco region. They are trolled for 
with spoons on the flats and fished for with bait suc- 
cessfully in various parts of the great bay. That the 
fish are migrating is shown by the fact that several 
have been taken in the Southern California waters, 
five hundred miles away. 

TROUT 

A large volume could be written on the fresh-water 
game fishes of the Pacific coast alone, as they range 
from the Alaska grayling to the rainbow trout and 
steelhead; but as this volume is merely intended as 
a picture book of fishes, with minimum description, 
the reader is referred to the large works of Jordan and 
others, referred to in the appendix. 

The rainbow trout is the native fish. It is found in 
all the streams of California that amount to anything 
down into Mexico, and has been carried all over the 



FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 103 

world. Twenty-pounders are taken in Klamath Lake, 
Oregon, and the author has a nine-pounder, Fig. 53, 
from the same region. It is a hard-fighting, good 
eating fish and, in swift water, like the San Gabriel, 
Feather and other rivers, is a joy to the man or 
woman with the rod. 

Famous trout rivers are the Soquel, San Gabriel, 
Truckee, Kern, Sacramento, Santa Ynez, Merced, Ven- 
tura, Rogue, Carmel, Russian, Williamson and many 
more, in which are found the Dolly Varden, cutthroat, 
rainbow, golden, lake, silver, Tahoe, brook, brown, 
in fact, almost every trout known, nearly all intro- 
duced. The lakes are Bear Valley, Klamath, Tahoe 
group, Weber, Blue Lakes and hundreds of others in 
California, Oregon and Washington, affording a vari- 
ety of scenery and sport unparalleled in the world, for 
a complete list of which apply to the Southern Pacific 
Railroad Company of San Francisco. 

STEELHEAD 

(Salmo gairdneri) 

The steelhead is a notable fish peculiar to the Pacific 
coast and found in or at the little lagunas of every 
notable stream as far south as the San Gabriel. They 
are supposed by some to be rainbows gone to sea, but 
they appear to be a different fish, making two up-the- 
river runs in the year, affording fine sport. Twenty- 
pounders have been taken in the Santa Ynez, and the 
Rogue of Oregon affords fine sport for them. 



104 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 

GRAYLING 

In some of the Alaskan streams the grayling is 
found. I 

BLACK BASS 

Black bass has been introduced into a number of 
streams, lakes and private waters of California, as 
the dam at San Diego, while the Blue Lakes, north of 
San Francisco, abound in them. 

THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF ANGLING 

The average reader has little conception of the 
value of sport as an asset to a community. 

The State of Maine values its fishing and hunting at 
five million dollars per annum ; in other words, sports- 
men bring that amount to spend in the State every 
year. In California the actual amount expended in 
sport annually is much more than this, as hundreds of 
anglers come from all over the world. 

In Avalon, the town of Santa Catalina, the boatmen 
who guide and gaff for visiting anglers have nearly 
two hundred thousand dollars invested in sport and its 
appliances. 

FISHING AUTHORITIES 

If the angler desires more explicit data regarding the 
fish of the Pacific coast he will find them in the follow- 
ing works : 

The Southern Pacific Company publishes an angling 
pamphlet. 




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PHOTO. BY PARKER 



Fig. 54 



The Lake Tahoe Trout, Salmo henshawi tahoensis. A thirty pounder. 




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FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST iii 

An exhaustive work on fishes is that of Dr. David 
Starr Jordan, President of Stanford University. 

Works on anghng and the sport are : " The Big 
Game Fishes," published by Macmillan and Co., New 
York; "The Log of a Sea Angler," Houghton Mifflin 
Company ; " The Channel Islands of California," Mc- 
Clurg & Co., Chicago, 111.; "Big Game at Sea," 
The Outing Publishing Company, New York ; " Recre- 
ations of a Sportsman," G. P. Putnam's Sons ; " Fish 
Stories," Henry Holt and Company ; " Guide to Study 
of Fishes," Henry Holt and Company, New York; 
United States Fish Commission Reports, etc. 



112 MEMORANDA 



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